The Carthage College women's basketball team (17-3, 9-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 29th in the Jan. 29 "D3hoops.com" poll and tied for 25th place in the Jan. 29 Women's Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division III poll, remains undefeated in the conference race at 9-0 after defeating North Central College (10-10, 3-6 CCIW), 105-80, on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.  The win also extended the Lady Reds' current winning streak to 10 games, tied for second-longest in school history.

There were seven ties and six lead changes in the first half.  Carthage's opened up an eight-point lead, 37-29, at 2:36, and the Lady Reds led by nine at halftime, 42-33.  The Cardinals opened the second half with a 15-8 run to take a two-point lead, 50-48, at 15:39.  Following two ties, the 10th and 11th of the game, Carthage took the lead, for good, 57-55, at 12:14 on a layup by Cailee Corcoran.  The Lady Reds pulled away to a 19-point lead, 96-77, at 2:15 and went on to win by 25, 105-80.

Carthage shot 60 percent (41-68), including just five-of-nine three pointers, while North Central shot just 38 percent (12-34), including nine-of-31 from three-point range, a little under its average of 45 three-pointer per game.  The Lady Reds had a 45-34 rebounding advantage, and the two team combined for 68 turnovers. 

Five Lady Reds scored in double figures.  Stephanie Kuzmanic (Jr., Mount Prospect, Ill./Wheeling) led the way with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-17 field goals, including two-of-two three-pointers, along with three-of-four free throws, five rebounds and nine assists, the latter matching her career high.  Cailee Corcoran (Sr., Oak Lawn, Ill./Chicago-Marist) scored 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, along with a game-high 12 rebounds.  Kasey Kleiner (So., South Milwaukee, Wis./Somers-Shoreland Lutheran) had 16 points on four-of-four field goals, including three-of-three three-pointers, along with five-of-six free throws and eight assists.  Kleiner's 16 points and eight assists were both career highs.  Alexis Hahn (Fr., Itasca, Ill./Roselle-Lake Park) and Michelle Wenzel (Jr., Darien, Wis./Delavan-Darien) both came off the bench to score 15 points.   AnnMarie Bachmann led the Cardinals with 12 points and five rebounds.

"That's how North Central plays," said Carthage coach Tim Bernero.  "I'm not sure that a game with 68 turnovers is good for anyone, including fans and players, but we persevered.  We lost our heads in the first half and the first few minutes of the second half.  Stephanie Kuzmanic did a good job of stabilizing things.  Simpler is better when playing against this kind of chaos.  Just get the ball down the floor, catch it and make a layup.  They give you those shots, but we were a little slow to take it.  Kasey Kleiner and Alexis Hahn were the real stars, because we had a few players in foul trouble.  Alexis is a supremely confident offensive player, and she took advantage of an opportunity.  We didn't do a very good job defensively or on the boards, and North Central took advantage of that.  It's such a crazy style of play—you never feel like you're in control of anything, and the kids have to make all the decisions." 

Carthage travels to Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Feb. 2 to play conference-opponent Augustan College (Ill., 7-13, 2-7 CCIW) in a 5 p.m. game at the Roy J. Carver Center.